Close to the Heart
by Anna Nimmie Tee
Summary: Slayers drabbles.
1. Losses Close to the Heart

(Takes place very near the end of novel 15, after Lina and Gourry's battle with Luke/Shabranigdo. On one of the Livejournal forums a member translated a bit more of the ending than had been translated elsewhere. Summary of the translation: Gourry had been seriously wounded but healed and resting in an inn. Lina stayed up all night watching over him to make sure he would be ok. The next morning, just as she finished telling Gourry what had happened when he was unconscious from his wounds, the dragon Milgasia and the elf Mephi (?) (name also seen as Memphis elsewhere) entered and tried to talk to Lina. She rudely told them what had happened and wanted them out of the room. Instead of chastising Lina for her behavior, Gourry, noticing Lina was crying, comforted her and told her it was ok just that once to cry. The story then changed to several days later as a fully recovered Gourry and Lina said good-bye to the dragon and elf, who were leaving now that Lina was her old self again.)

In the inn in a slowly rebuilt Sairaag:

With an almost empty mug held between her two hands, Lina sat curled up in the large chair near the fire in the inn's main fireplace. It was unclear whether the blank look on her face was from the contents of the mug or thought.

"Lina?" Milgasia gently asked, "May Mephi and I join you?" And he gestured to the empty couch opposite the sorceress.

"I'm just about to go to my room," she sighed, "Suit yourself." She drained her mug, uncurled herself from the chair, and placed the now empty mug on the table in front of her. Abruptly she stood up and left.

Gourry, almost recovered from his wounds and now ambulatory, returned from the bar with a glass of warm milk in his hand. He saw Lina determinedly climbing the stairs and the concerned expressions on the faces of the dragon and elf. Shaking his head, the swordsman carefully sat down in the chair Lina had occupied.

"Lina still doesn't seem to be herself since that fight with Shabranigdo," the elf commented.

Gourry took a couple gulps of his milk and thought a second. "It wasn't just Shabirdango she fought, it was also Luke. Lina has killed various bad guys and has seen massive scenes of death, but she has never had a fighting companion be totally killed, let alone has had to do the killing herself. Witnessing the death of Melina was bad enough on Lina, then she had to face a second piece of Shabby. To make it worse, to ruin him, she also had to destroy Luke. Lina feels a lot more deeply about people than most would believe, but she puts on a brave, brash face to cover up. I think she felt a connection somehow with how Luke was taken over by his grief over Malina and then that Dark Lord."

The elf drew in a sharp breath and Milgasia nodded in understanding. "Hmm. She may need a healer's help more than you did," the dragon commented.

A serious expression clouded the swordsman's face, and he smiled sadly and answered, "As a soldier and mercenary, I've seen friends cut down in battle, and I've had to finish off a former comrade when he tried to kill Lina. I tried to talk him down, but in the end there was nothing else I could do. It was one of the most gut wrenching things I've ever had to do. Although Lina didn't know what had happened to him, 'cause she had passed out and I never told her, just being with her helped me not to dwell on it." The clouds cleared from his eyes and, grinning in happy realization, he smacked his left palm with his right fist. "It's my turn to help her now! Perhaps a trip to see her parents would do her good, too. In the meantime, I'll see what I can do to bring back her fire. I hope it won't hurt me too much!" Winking at the two beings, he downed the rest of his milk, and then, taking a deep breath, went up the stairs.

Few minutes later, a shriek reverberated throughout the inn, "Ahhhhh! You idiotic Jellyfish brain! If you weren't recovering, I'd blast your butt from here to Elmekia!"

The elf looked in dismay at Milgasia. He only nodded and calmly declared, "Such a strange human to be so wisely stupid. I think Lina will be alright."


	2. Trust in Time

Trust in Time

(Like all my efforts, this is written only to amuse with no gain and in great appreciation and homage to Kanzaka et al. for providing the characters and the fun.)

The unfortunate fellow who had groped Lina's butt went flying from her punch and met with a Flare Arrow like a clay pigeon meets an expert shot. As what was left of him fell to earth, Lina screeched, "How dare you lay hands on a innocent maiden like me!"

To which Zelgadiss questioned out of the side of his mouth, "Who's a maiden?"

Unfortunately for the chimera, Lina heard him, and Zel became intimately acquainted with a Fireball. Lina humphed, "Smartass, I most certainly am a maiden!" and, giving Gourry a vicious shove, stomped off to the nearest restaurant to inflict horror there.

The blond swordsman cautiously checked to see if his sorcerer-swordsman friend was ok. As Zelgadiss batted away the stick Gourry had poked him with, he angrily coughed out, "Gourry, what the hell is wrong with you? How many years have you traveled with Lina, and she's still a maiden?"

"Zel, I'm her protector, her guardian. I do my best to be sure she STAYS a maiden as long as she wants, as well as protecting her life. My desires don't figure in."

"Well then, look, Gourry, it's pretty darn obvious you love Lina, what with promising to wait for her if she was imprisoned. And then there was your reaction to Lina's reaction when the fishman stated you loved her. You didn't deny what he said at all. Why haven't you two gotten more together, know what I mean?"

Gourry blushed, looked down, and tapped his forefingers together. "I'm still not sure about her feelings for me. Being a best friend doesn't lead to being a lover, though I guess it can often happen. Well, she'll have to take the lead. Otherwise, it's Fireball City for me or a loss of the family jewels." He winched at a particularly painful memory.

"I don't know. That shove she gave you before she stomped off just now seemed to have a lot of frustration behind it. But it's true. When it comes to romance, she's very confused and conflicted. And you, my friend, don't help your cause with your tactless, stupid remarks, especially about her breasts."

"I was brought up to be always truthful."

"Truthful is one thing, but blurting out hurtful truth when it's not called for is another! Especially when it gets you pummeled as well."

Gourry quietly responded, "Lina knows the truth about herself. How could she trust me if I lied in order to flatter her? I tell the truth because I love her."


End file.
